Friday, May 27, 2022 at 8pm, The Revue Stage, Granville Island
Petr Kroutil. One of the most distinctive and most charismatic musicians in Europe. Petr studied saxophone and clarinet at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague. In addition, he studied Jazz Composition and Performance at the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Boston. He studied bamboo flute at Kathmandu University in Nepal. Petr Kroutil’s biggest and most successful project so far is the big band Original Vintage Orchestra, where he currently acts as a bandleader, soloist (sax., Clar., Indian flute), singer and arranger.
In the US he accompanied the The Platters with Herb Reid, Marty Allen, Kenny James, Victor Mendoza’s Afro-Latin American Big Band, Joe Mareiny – a member of the Louis Armstrong All Stars Band. Kroutil also performed alongside with phenomenal drummer Dave Weckl, Chris Minh Doky and Dean Brown from Brecker Brothers. He holds the B.E.S.T. Award Of Berklee College Of Music.
He was the only Czech musician to play at the opening festival of the Olympics in London in 2012. For this purpose he made a music arrangement of the song Škoda lásky (Beer Barrel Polka) in swing style. The Trafalgar Square was attended by 25,000 people and the concert was broadcasted by the BBC.
Petr Kroutil and Chuck Wansley expanded to the US with a musical project in 2019 where, along with the Hollywood Dancers, they attracted more than 1,000 visitors to the famous Millennium Baltimore Hotel in Los Angeles (until 1943 the Academy Awards were taking place there).
Ondřej Kabrna. After finishing high school in1994 he joined the piano department of the Conservatory of Jaroslav Ježek. He graduated from the piano program in the year 2000. Since 1999, he has begun teaching at the Conservatory. In 2016 he further graduated from the piano program at the Academy of Music in Prague, where he studied with Karel Ruzicka and Jiri Slavik. His master thesis was Transformations of Jazz, which was influenced by the music of the Jewish author Erwin Schulhoff.
Friday, September 20, 2019 at 8pm, The Revue Stage, Granville Island
Featuring:
Lubos Andrst – guitar
Vit Pospisil – keyboards
Filip Benesovsky – bass guitar
Michal Hejna – drums
Bill Runge – saxophone
LUBOŠ ANDRŠT (26 July 1948 – 20 December 2021) is rightly considered to be one of the most respected blues and jazz musicians in the Czech Republic. He is especially known for his proficiency and dexterity with the guitar. For years, he has regularly performed his musical undertakings, where many of his band members alternated and were swapped out. Andrst’s collaboration with other soloists, especially with the singer Michal Prokop, is significant. The repertoire of Luboš Andršt’s current band,Lubos Andrst Group, is based on Andrst’s own harmoniously elaborate compositions, which reflect the influences of jazz, Latin music and blues. These connections are evident in the two albums: “Acoustic set” and “Moment In Time”. Andrst’s unmistakably clever guitar play is complemented by two new members to the band: the experienced and highly sought-after musicians Filip BenešovskýandVít Pospíšil. On the other hand, drummer Michal Hejna,who has been playing with the group for 20 years, plays exclusively in instrumental bands like Rhythm Desperados, Jiří Stivín and others. Currently, his main responsibility, however, is the operation of the jazz club AghaRTA, where the LA Group performs regularly. Michal Hejnahas also been instrumental in organizing the AghaRTA Prague Jazz Festival.
BILL RUNGE has been a successful performer, composer, arranger, and orchestrator for over 30 years. A multi-instrumentalist, he has performed and recorded on saxophones, flutes, clarinets, electric and string bass, piano and other keyboards, guitar, pennywhistle, and accordion. Bill has performed live shows at Jazz, Folk and Blues Festivals in Canada, Europe, the U.K., and the U.S. with such artists as The Funk Bros., Colin James, and Natalie Cole, Michael Buble, Taj Mahal, John Lee Hooker, Bo Didley, Sheena Easton, Roger Daltry, John Hammond Jr., Ben E. King, Bob Hope, Robert Cray, Marilyn Crispell, Don Thompson, Kenny Wheeler, Jimmy Witherspoon, Dave Holland, Slide Hampton, Jeff Healey, Michael Burgess, Strippers Union and dozens more.
Binky’s BeamDowntown Street
Concert Review:
Thank you very much for the invitation to the Lubos Andrst sensational jazz group you brought to the Granville Island stage. We could have listened to them all night to the next morning. They were fantastic to listen to as they were innovative and ,as you know , I play drums in a band and we would call these players “very tight”. They read each other well and the audience. The local saxophone player they brought on stage fit in extremely well with I know would have been with very little “practice time”. Signs of true musicians!! I understand that the concert was in celebration of the 30 year reunion of Czechoslovakia Velvet Revolution. You pick a great choice to celebrate that!! We hope there will be a 3000 year reunion! Bring them back for the 31st reunion !!! All the best and thanks again. Great evening…… Will and Helen
Emil Viklicky :As a pianist, Emil often performs in international ensembles alongside musicians from the U.S. and other European countries. Back in 1983-89 Emil worked with the Lou Blackburn International Quartet, the Benny Bailey Quintet, and American multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson. He has made frequent appearances in Finland (with the Finnczech Quartet and in particular with Jarmo Sermila) and Norway (with the Czech-Norwegian Big Band and Harald Gundhus) and has performed in the USA, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands (at the North Sea Festival) and elsewhere. The editor of Rolling Stone Jan Wenner wrote of Emil that “It was a delightful surprise to see such first-class, top-of-the-line jazz in Prague.”
Emil has become noted for his unique synthesis of the melodicism and tonalities of Moravian folk song with modern jazz. As English critic Euan Dixon wrote in 2005 “Emil Viklicky is one of those European jazz pianists who successfully incorporated elements of his indigenous folk culture into jazz”.
As composer, Viklicky has attracted attention abroad primarily for having created a synthesis of the expressive elements of modern jazz with the melodicism and tonalities of Moravian folk song that is distinctly individual in contemporary jazz. Besides this, however, he also composes ‘straight-ahead’ modern jazz as well as chamber and orchestral works that utilize certain elements of the New Music, and at times his music requires a combination of classical and jazz performers.
Viklicky’s work has gained him quite a number of prestigious awards. These include second prize in the 1985 Monaco jazz composition competition (for “Cacharel”), the 1991 Film and Television Association prize for music for animated films, second prize at the 1994 Marimolin contemporary music competition in Boston (for “Tristana”), a 1996 Prague award for electroacoustic music (for “Paradise Park”), a 1996 Czech Music Fund prize for use of folk music in art music, and first prize in a 2000 international OPERA composition competition in Prague (for the opera Phaedra). In 2009 Emil recorded CD “Sinfonietta – Janáček of Jazz”, for VENUS Records, Japan,with George Mraz – bass, Lewis Nash – drums. Another cd for VENUS followed in 2011: “Kafka on the Shore”. This cd got Nissan prize for “The best sound CD in Japan”. In 2011 Emil received “Medal of Merrit” from Czech president Vaclav Klaus for lifelong music achievements.
Paul Rushka: Award-winning bassist Paul Rushka has engaged audiences throughout North America, Europe and Asia with his sonorous tone, assured confident pulse, and eloquent soloing since 1997. Active as a performer, composer, arranger, and educator, Paul is a first-call bassist in Vancouver. He has appeared on stage with numerous jazz luminaries, including John Taylor, Joe LaBarbera, Julian Priester, Jimmy Greene, Peter Bernstein, Will Vinson, Mike LeDonne, Danny Grissett, Jeremy Pelt, Brad Turner, Ross Taggart, Lorne Lofsky, Kirk MacDonald, Kevin Dean, André White, Joe Sullivan, Josh Rager, and many more. In 2003, Paul won a Western Canadian Music Award for Best Jazz Album for his work on the Mike Allen Trio’s Dialectic. He is currently on the faculty at the VSO (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) School of Music.
Jesse Cahill: Jesse has become one of the busiest drummers on the Canadian music scene. He has worked with jazz legends like David “Fathead” Newman, George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Red Holloway, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Charles MacPherson and Bobby Shew. He has also performed, toured, and recorded with many internationally recognized artists such as Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein, Vincent Herring, Jim Snidero, Terrell Stafford, Mike Ledonne, Pat Bianchi, Joe Magerelli, Jim Rotondi, Steve Davis, Ryan Kysor and George Colligan.
Friday, May 25, 2018 at 8pm, The Revue Stage, Granville Island
Vancouver review by Bill Hood, Highlife Records
It seems that some piano players and composers have a direct line to the traditional folk music in the part of the world that they come from. In addition to Jelly Roll Morton, Ellington, and Mingus you might think of the names Dvorak and Janacek, to say nothing of Bartok and Kodaly. Messing with, while still embracing, traditional music has a long history. Sometimes we call it modern classical music and some times we call it jazz.
As we made our way into the intimate confines of the Revue Stage on Granville Island, on Friday, May 25, 2018, word spread, amongst the assembled crowd, that that sound check had been electric, and that we were in for something special.
When the night was over piano master Emil Viklicky along with his colleagues for this performance – Paul Rushka and Jesse Cahill – had fulfilled all of our expectations, and then some. From the first note – through two sets and an encore – this trio demonstrated the universal power that springs from an ability to respect and embrace traditions, while confidently improvising. The performance on this night slipped smoothly from the St Louis Blues, to Janacek, and then through original compositions based on Moravian folk tunes that spoke of things like Wine, Oh Wine, and a Falling Aspen Leaf.
In short, the evening revealed the past and the future, simultaneously held confidently in the vital palm of a pianist, and his trios’s, hands. These musicians listened, and risked, and played as though they had been together for 20 years, not just 6 hours – breathing in history and inspiration, and breathing out magic. All concerts can only hope to be both this ancient and this fresh. A night for the ages.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Do not miss this unique work of Raymond Carver, a short story master and one of the greatest writers of American literature in the 80s of the last century! Performed by Jiri Labus with piano accompaniment by Emil Viklicky, you will find a great combination of excellent acting and virtuoso jazz improvisation!
Background of the author:
Raymond Carver (1938–1988) worked at a sawmill while editing a literary magazine. He wrote stories included in anthologies of best American stories of the year while selling cinema playbills in Hollywood. He won prestigious literary prizes but was dismissed from his job. An expert on and admirer of Chekhov, Flaubert and many other European artists, Carver was four times hospitalized because of his acute alcoholism. A master of short prose, he considered himself first and foremost a poet. He remains the most important American writer of the 1980s.
Martin Kratochvil and Jazz Q Praha (Prague)at Revue Stage on Granville Island,
1601 Johnston Street, V6H 3R9, Vancouver, BC.
Martin Kratochvil became well known to audiences throughout Eastern Europe in the 1970’s, when he brought jazz-rock and live electronic performance to this part of the world with his legendary group Jazz Q Praha, which between 1970 and 1984 recorded dozen albums and won prizes at several international festivals, including San Sebastian and Zurich. Before this time, Kratochvil had managed to earn a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Prague’s Charles University, travel in England for a year, and pursue his interest in jazz, competitive skiing and mountain climbing. In 1976 he became the first Czech musician to be invited (and allowed) to spend a year at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Gary Burton and Mike Gibbs. Upon his return from the U.S. in 1977, Kratochvil continued working with Jazz Q , and also founded Studio Budikov, the first privately-owned recording studio in Communist Czechoslovakia. This entrepreneurial spirit ripened in the forming of the Bonton Music Cooperative (still under the Communist regime), which then, after the Velvet Revolution of 1989, went on to become the largest entertainment conglomerate in the former East Bloc. As CEO of Bonton Music Company, Martin is known outside the Czech Republic as the model of the new Czech entrepreneur. He continues with his passion for climbing, travelling twice a year to the Himalayas on ever more remote treks, and has in the past few years added to his range of careers by making several best-selling films about the Himalayas, and most recently has filmed the ground-breaking serial “Prolinani svetu” aired throughout this year on Czech TV. He is most at home behind the piano keyboard, where he has developed a style that can remind you of Keith Jarrett, Thelonius Monk or John Cage, depending on the piece of the moment; he combines a hard percussive attack and rhythmic drive with gentle and lush harmonies, and when the musical tension mounts he is not afraid to strike or pluck the piano strings with any object at hand.
Lenka Lichtenberg creates uniquely Canadian world music, channeling the rich Toronto soundscapes of Middle East, India and Brazil, and her own East European heritage. Once a child star in her native Prague, Czech Republic, she is an award-winning recording artist, published composer, sought-after session vocalist (Yiddish, English, Czech, French, Russian, Hebrew), and bandleader with 6 solo CD releases and several collaborations on her resume. Lenka is in the midst of a diverse international concert career, traveling across continents as a solo artist, with a trio, her group “Fray”, or with one of her collaborative projects. Most recently, she has commenced collaboration with Eccodek’s Andrew McPherson; the resulting remix of one of her songs, “Open My Eyes”, was picked as “Song of the Week” on CBC’s Here and Now in 2014. Summer touring found Lenka in concerts with Yair Dalal and Alan Bern in Czech Republic, presenting a series of Lullabies from exile concerts in Canada, and touring in the U.S. with her band Fray in November, 2015. Lenka’s plans for 2016 include publishing a collection of her original Yiddish songs, releasing an EP of Eccodek remixes, filming two new music videos, and recording the bulk of an upcoming CD of Czech and Moravian songs, titled “Masaryk.” As well, the British world music label ARC is set to release Lenka’s “Yiddish Journey” in February, 2016.
Interview:
Ako mladé dievča ste boli hviezdou v divadle Semafor. Prečo práve Semafor a ako si na toto obdobie spomínate?
Maminka slyšela v rádiu pana Suchého, jak si stěžoval, že mu Zuzanka Vrbová, jeho první dětská partnerka, vyrostla a že hledá novou. Maminka mu napsala, a jednoho dne se Jiří Suchývozval na telefonu – ať přijdu na konkurs. Ten jsem vyhrála, pak nasledovala doba učení se písní, náš první hit “Na louce zpívaj drozdi”, a pak hra Benefice. Z té pocházely písne jako “Na obloze tetelej se mráčky”. Bylo to celé jako sen. Chodila jsem do skoly jakp “normálni” dítě ale svět se mi úplně změnil. Po večerech jsem seděla v šatně v Semaforu, mezi dospělými, a učila se zemepis…Byla jsem v Semaforu, kromě přestávky dvou let, až do 18 let. Bylo to jediněčné dětství a mládí, jsem za nej vděčná, I když tam byly také některé negativní a i bolestné stránky věcí. Jsem si vědomá, že mně to předurčilo dráhu na zbytek života.
Po odchode z Československa v 70. rokoch ste žili v Dánsku, neskôr v Kanade, kde žijete doteraz. Čím vám učarovala práve Kanada?
Romantikou mládí. Jako dítě jsem byla posedlá “Indiány”, jak jsem je “znala” z knih Karla Maye, a pak z filmu o Vinetou. Neuveřitelná příroda, hory, moře, nekonečné dálky. V porovnání s roztomilým, placatým, malinkatým Dánskem to byl ráj na zemi. Ale možná to hlavní bylo, že jsem si ihned uvědomila, že tady má přinjemenším každý druhý přízvuk – což v Dánsku byl problém, zatímco tady v Kanadě o tom nikdo nepřemýšlí.
Vaše detstvo v židovskej rodine sa príliš nelíšilo od detstva iných detí v Prahe. Zlom nastal po vašej prvej návšteve Izraela. Ako to zmenilo váš život?
Rozhodla jsem se, že budu vést život “po židovsku” – ne z ortodoxní náboženské stránky, ale hlavně z profesionální. Že se začnu zabývat židovskou hudbou, protože všechno ostatní najednou pozbylo smyslu.
Spievate v šiestich jazykoch. Vlastne vytvárate akýsi most medzi kultúrami od Európy po orient. Čo pre vás spev znamená?
Moje duše se vyjadruje zpěvem. Zpěv je můj osobní jazyk. Jde z mnohem větší hloubky než slova.
Pár rokov dozadu ste dokončli zaujímavý projekt Písně pro dýchajíci stěny /Songs for the Breathing Walls/. Čo vás k nemu inšpirovalo?
Jezdím často do České republiky, a stále častěji tam koncertuji. Při koncertech v synagogách jsem si všimla jak každá synagoga má svůj silný osobní character. Byla jsem přesvědčena, že se jedná o vice, než pouhou akustiku. Zpívala jsem liturgické písně a žalmy pro stěny, které nebyly prázdné, něco se mi vracelo. Rozhodla jsem se nahrát tento cyklus s tím, že každá píseň bude natočena v jiné synagoze, a zároveň s hudbou, bude zachyceno I to “něco” co tam existuje, tzv. “genius loci”. Myslím, že je to v nahrávkách slyšet… Byla to snaha o uctění památky těch, kteří ty budovy kdysi plnili svými životy, a kteří zcela zmizeli- a jsou zachyceni právě pouze v těch “dýchajících” stěnách (většina těchto synagog se nachází v místech, kde už židovská komunita neexistuje).
Spievate, skladáte, veľa cestujete a nedá sa nespomenúť, že ste držiteľkou niekoľkých prestížnych cien. Ste tiež manželkou a matkou. Ako sa vám darí skĺbiť toto všetko dokopy? Kde na to beriete energiu?
Už je to o hodně jednodušší. Děti jsou studenti a nebydlí doma. Energie zatím mám dost, doufám že mi jěště chvilku vydrží.
Vy ste sa narodili v Prahe, váš manžel je sefardský Žid. Aké zvyky dominujú u vás doma?
Manžel je z rodiny pocházející z Iráku. Tradiční irácko-židovská kultura je v mnoha směrech součástí našeho života, ale nená to moc ve viditelných oblastech kromě určitého způsobu slavení svátkú. Také jídlo samozřejmně… co manžel má rád z dětství a teď už to mám ráda i já a naše děti. Ale to hlavní je spíše v určitém druhu chování, temperamentu. Tradiční, solidní, spolehlivé, hlasité, a výbušné jako sopka!
Čo plánujete v najbližšej budúcnosti?
Teď vyšlo nové CD, spolupráce s proslulým izraelským virtuozem Yairem Dalalem, Lullabies from Exile. Je to rozmilé CD, a zní na něm i čeština a slovenština! Tak v přísštích měsících budou nějaké turné… také pracuji na novém podání své hudby, tzv. DEM (dance electronica music), vyvíjí se to zajímavě. Ale na co se snad nejvíce těším, je plánované CD českých /slovenských lidových písní. To bych ráda natočila v létě 2015, mezi turné po dalších českých a moravských synagogách. Nápadů na další projekty mám vždycky příliš! Více než času…
Trumpet player, composer and band leader Laco Deczi was born in Bernolakovo (close to Bratislava, Slovakia) in 1938. In 1960’s he was a member of Karel Velebny’s SHQ. In 1970 he recorded his solo album “Sentimental Trumpet” with strings. As soloist he took part on the famous big band recording “Jazz Goes To Beat” by Vaclav Zahradnik.
In the end of 1967 he founded his own Jazz Celula ensemble and since the beginning of 1970 he was a member of d the Czech Radio Jazz Orchestra (JOCR).
He also made some duo recordings with the guitarist Sarka Dvorak and composed a lot of music for film and TV productions.
Since 1985 he lives in United States where he is a leader of the “Jazz Cellula International”.
Laco has performed throughout the United States with a roster of jazz the finest musicians, among them: Elvin Jones, Bill Watrous, Junior Cook, Dave Weckl, Sonny Costanzo, just to name a few.
Reviews:
“The Laco Deczi concert at the York Theatre this spring was for me the most exciting, moving, and all-around entertaining live jazz I’ve heard in Vancouver—by far.
The range of this group is remarkable—from wildly dramatic to outrageously quirky to softly wistful—and surprisingly funny! Humour crept in when least expected—a delightful reminder that all moods change and even sadness can be lightly held. It was a pleasure in itself just to see how much fun the group had playing together. Each gave a truly memorable performance and each brought a completely unique voice to the blend. Kudos to Art Without Borders for bringing Vancouver this exceptional treat!”
— Margit (Mog) Hesthammar
The concert at the York Theatre on April 11th was an exceptional display of world-class musicianship by all four band members. For this amateur musician it was a treat worth every cent of the admission to take in the brilliant rhythms, harmonies and sheer playing technique of this quartet, which was exhilarating most of the night. And to be able to treat my dad to this concert on his 75th birthday made it all so much better! Walter Vladimir Cicha
Pod tímto názvem uvedla nová krajanská agentura ART without borders koncert trumpetisty Laco Decziho a jeho comba Celula New York (syn Vajco a dva členové z Čech, baskytarista Michael Krásný a pianista Jan Aleš). Koncert se konal v novém York Theatre – The Cultch (639 Comercial Drive, Vancouver) shodou okolností v den mých pokročilých (75) narozenin, 11.dubna.
Pokud v názvu programu je jazz, pak v tomto případě šlo o jazz s velikým J, absolutně špičkové úrovně a kvality všech jeho členů a pod vedením legendárního Laco Decziho, slavného ještě v době vlády jedné strany v Československu.
Technická a muzikální dokonalost všech, vitální, komplikovaná hra V.Decziho na bicí, nápaditá sola M.Krásného (a scatový zpěv v doprovodu svého nástroje), technicky výborný, znamenitě využívající možností elektrického keyboardu Jan Aleš … všichni v dokonalé souhře s L.Deczim.
Většina skladeb byla instrumentálního improvizačního charakteru v trvání mnoha dlouhých minut. Občas jsem si ale maně připomněl výrok Count Basieho, že jazz jsou také pauzy a ticha. To bylo nejednou předvedeno v absolutní dokonalosti ve skladbách téměř be-bopového charekteru dokonalou synchoronizací nástupů (po vteřince či dvou ticha) L.Decziho hlavně s bubeníkem, ale stejně tak s ostatními hráči.
Zmínil jsem se o bravurní hře všech členů komba, ale nemohu se ještě nezmínit o V. Deczim. Málokdy jsem slyšel hrát na bicí s takovou vitalitou a technickou jedinečností , jako tohoto večera! Muzikanti nešetřili na čase, koncert byl dlouhý, stejně jako přídavek a reakce posluchačů byla nadšená a bouřlivá. Škoda, že nezněla z vyprodaného sálu.
I když z mnoha podob a stylů jazzu není ten, který jsem toho večera slyšel mým nejoblíbenějším (příliš dlouhé skladby ač v technicky náročném provedení, ale nejednou mi v nich chyběl záblesk melodie a swingu), to, že mám raději Cool jazz, Swing, Main stream jazz a čistý Be-bop nikterak neznamená, že nejsem schopen ocenit i tento styl jazzu, který ten večer sálem zněl.
To jsou ale zcela osobní názory, a snad právě tím je jazzová hudba zajímavá, že kromě svobody projevu poskytované hráčům v improvizacích, nabizí posluchači možnost preferencí stylu toho či jiného. Každý styl má své mistry. Ve zvoleném hudebním žánru L.Deczi a jeho Celula patří nepochybně ke špičkám i v měřítku světovém.
Druhá hudební akce ART without borders skončila úspěchem. Škoda, že sál nebyl vyprodaný. Ale vancouverští milovníci hudby a hlavně jazzu jistě se v blízké budoucnosti sejdou na akcích dalších této nové produkční skupiny.
Vladimír Mišík is a Czech rock guitarist and singer. He founded his first band, called Uragán, as a teenager. Later, he became the lead singer of Komety with Radim Hladík. Wikipedia
Review: “S nebem to mam dobrý, dobrý
U Pána mám plus
Když se lidi modlí, modlí,
Ja mu zpívám blues.”
“I’m in good terms with Heavens
The Father gives me plus
When people pray to Him
I’m singing Him my blues”
Those of you who visited one of two brilliant concerts of Vladimir Misik and Pavel Skala last weekend of August 2015 in Vancouver, certainly recognized the poetries of at least one of the tunes played by the Master. For us, true fans of Misik’s music, these two performances deeply touched our souls. For two hours, we were able to forget our everyday hassles and let ourselves be carried away by the beauty of Josef Kainar’s, Vaclav Hrabe’s and other noteworthy lyricists’ poetries. Misik’s unmistakable voice and guitarist Pavel Skala’s brilliant musicianship transported us back to Prague’s era, when the unforgettable Czech beer culture and Svejk’s tranquility crowned the Czech lands and when artists became dissidents not knowing how. Between his tunes, Misik recalled a story or two from the “Bolshevik times”, hence created truly magical atmosphere, full of comfort and humour.
Musically, the show was exceptional. Two true professionals (Vladimir Misik – cofounder of famous Blue Effect, who had also been a member of such bands as Flamengo and Energit, later formed his own “Etc.” – music formation he still leads today and Pavel Skala who too is active in Etc., besides Bratri Ebenove and Marsyas) accomplished marvelously what may not have been done much better by the entire cast of Etc. An atmosphere of a small club on the outskirts of New Westminster was very low key, what allowed viewers to experience Misik up close and personal. During the intermission it was possible to get personally acquainted with the artists and talk to them face-to-face. Cannot forget an amazing baker and her delicious strudels of course.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the enthusiasts of the foundation “Art Without Borders”, who organized this fantastic event. Our gratitude also goes to Mr. Misik and Mr. Skala, who performed all four concerts (in Toronto and Vancouver) free of charge.
So my final assessment? Excellent concert, very reasonable price, good beer and magical atmosphere. Next time I will come again, hundred percent!
John Koerner was born in Moravia in 1913. He studied law in Prague and art in Paris and Geneva. Because of pre – World War II turmoil, his family and him left Prague and moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1939. Here he was working for his family’s lumber business until 1951. His three uncles, Leon, Otto and Walter Koerner actually started Alaska Pine Company. Leon Koerner with his wife Thea later established the Koerner Foundation to support cultural and creative arts and the social services that serve communities throughout British Columbia. Walter Koerner was also a patron of the arts. He donated his European ceramic art collection to theMuseum of Anthropology at UBC. The Walter C. Koerner Library, opened in 1997, is named in his honor.
In 1951 the lumber company was sold and John Koerner could fully focus on being a painter and art teacher at the Vancouver School of Art and at UBC.
Interview with John Koerner
Although he is now 100 years old, he has never stopped painting and he is the oldest active member of the Vancouver School of Painters. His art is undeniably some of the most influential in developing modernism in Canadian art.
Feeling very privileged, I entered Mr. Koerner’s apartment to find a charming and modest man. His voice was soft and calm, his smile was a tell tale sign of love for humor, and his eyes were emanating the same light as his paintings which were covering most of his studio walls. His art, both abstract and nature inspired, is painted with a vivid palette of warm colours or brilliant blues and greens. The place was very peaceful; maybe because the colours in the pictures were colours of ripe wheat in the summer, the brush strokes soft, gentle and careful. Even though there were thousands questions on my mind I wanted to ask (the man in front of me was born during the reign of Franz Josef I of Austria, was in Paris at the same time as Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso or Le Corbusier!), I promised his lovely wife Lisa (Lisa Birnie, renowned journalist and writer), that I would only stay for half an hour.
Mr. Koerner, you were born in the Austro – Hungarian Monarchy in 1913. What do you remember about growing up?
I was born in Moravia, but we moved to Prague when I was four years old. At that time I was given a little box that contained coloured crayons. With them I painted walls of my nursery and that was my first mural. Also I thought then, that I my profession should be an artist.
Pursuing your dream, you went to study art to Paris at a very young age. How did you find life in this center of vibrant artistic activity?
I was sent to study French during my holidays when I was in my teens. I went to Paris and spent my time drawing and painting. Later I returned to Paris (1935 – 1938) and studied with Paul Colin who was a painter of wonderful posters. I also worked with Victor Tischler and we became very good friends. I remember I would go to his studio at 9 o’clock in the morning and I found him already painting. All he would wear was a towel around his middle, because when he woke up he was so intense, he couldn’t wait to get dressed. That is my memory of Paris. We went together to many exhibitions. When Salvador Dali had his first exhibition, we went there, but unfortunately, didn’t meet him.
Your paintings are full of energy and vivid colors. Where does your positive thinking come from?
That is a mystery. My father used to be a very energetic person, but very pessimistic, and when I was in my teens I decided that I am not going to be like that. And I have been positive ever since. What I am trying to do in my paintings is to give something of that feeling to others. It depends very much on your general outlook on things. My objective is to present sort of a celebration that people will feel good about when they see it.
Do you listen to music when you are painting?
No, I have to have complete quiet and I have to concentrate. But I like to listen to classical music and chamber music. I like and listen to many composers, such as: Mozart, Smetana, Beethoven…
How do you see your art evolving over the years?
The changes that I know about or realized have to do with themes. I have certain subjects I have concentrated about. For example my paintings of a lighthouse, I have around 360 of them. Of course, I don’t paint a lighthouse, I am trying to indicate a source of eternal light.
Usually I concentrate on one painting, sometimes I work on two or three. I don’t do any sketches outside, I do memory paintings. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I know exactly which direction I want to go in my day. I’ve done couple of small paintings lately, because I was sick and I couldn’t do anything big. Now I can’t paint every day, I have my off days. I like to read or listen to music.
I have a painting from Bo Yin Ra, who was my spiritual teacher.
He was a German artist who lived in Switzerland (J.A. Schneiderfranken,1876-1943) who published more than 30 books under the pseudonym of Bo Yin Ra. ). In my paintings I am trying to visually come close to expressing his teachings. When I was 19 years old, I went to Switzerland to study and I asked a friend of mine what would he recommend to read. He suggested I should stop in Basel and meet Dr. Alfred Kober, the publisher. That is how I discovered Bo Yin Ra. I’ve been reading his books ever since. I have lots of them in the German original version and some translations. This proved to be an enormously important discovery, for it has influenced my life and my work ever since.
Mr. Koerner, do you thing that young people have enough knowledge about art?
There is a tendency to go after something new, no matter how it is represented. This kind of drive for the latest trends seems to overcome the quality.
When and where we can see your paintings?
I am going to have an exhibition in September in Penticton. It will be a retrospective show. I know a director, Paul Crawford, and he likes my paintings. We know each other very well. He invited me to have a show there. Paul Crawford has an intense passion for history and is very knowledgeable of modern art on the West Coast.
“Creativity occurs in the kitchen, in the workshop, on the playing field or at an office.” — John Koerner
John Koerner lived most of his life in Canada. But he never forgot about his roots. In 1990 he visited Prague with his family. Inspired after the visit he painted ‘Slavonic Dances’. The other picture inspired by his memories is called ‘Prague Remembered’. One of John Koerner’s pictures was bought by late Mr.Vaclav Havel (former president of Czech Republic, 1936 – 2011).
When I asked what is he missing the most from his old country, he replied: “The bread, of course”.
